Newstex script

May 4, 2018

A reader tipped me off to this verdict, which was handed down a few weeks ago in Orange County. A jury awarded just under $10 million in compensatory damages, plus $13 million in punitive damages, against GEICO Insurance Co.

Omar Daoud, a GEICO insured, was injured in an auto accident with a driver who had $100,000 in liability coverage. Daoud demanded that GEICO pay the $400,000 underinsured motorist policy limits on his policy. According to Daoud, GEICO unreasonably delayed in paying those benefits, which caused him to lose two homes to foreclosure.